This morning it is being reported that Texas Governor Rick Perry has agreed to enter into negotiations with the majority Republican legislature concerning ACA Medicaid expansion. Previously Perry had publicly turned down any thought of accepting any provisions in the ACA which has become better known as Obamacare.

But many Republican State legislators in Texas are receiving requests from constituents wanting to take advantage of this opportunity. One Republican legislator who would not go on the record told me there is a lot of anxiety in the chamber as members watch other states taking advantage of the ACA Medicaid expansion.
He went on to say, “ What are we going to do come 2014, what am I going to tell my constituents, that you can’t have insurance because I am a principled man, that is BS, and I’ll tell you I am not the only Republican in this chamber who feels this way.

We can’t ride on coattails no more, and this Abbot a lot of us are not fans of his, and Wendy Davis has lit a fire in the suburbs with women voters. We are in for a hell of a fight in this state. The Republicans in Washington might not see it, but hell, every time I walk out my office door I have to pass by these Turning Texas Blue volunteers registering folks and selling them on the idea of Medicaid expansion.”

I don't see a corporatist, I see a man of integrity who
is doing his best, working way harder than probably
nearly anybody else on the planet, to do the right thing
for the people of this country and the world as well.

He is not stupid enough to be blind to the damages
being done by corporations, cheaters and deceivers,
fearmongerers, warmongerers, godmongerers. As
far as I can tell he has always been a man of heart
and conscience, great intelligence and courage.
That's how he was raised and who he became.

I have never had particular expectations of what
he's able/willing to do as president, and for that I am
glad. I continue to see a man of vision who is
having a big impact on history. He is navigating
brilliantly, in my opinion, through a delicate maze
of obstructionist spiderwebs and previous administrations'
devastation. When he became president it was like a
war zone, and continues to be. Not only had Bush
wrecked everything, but there were enemies and
spies everywhere, the media propaganda machine
was all set to roll, the money was all in place, the
supreme court was in the pocket, and wall street
was flying high with liars and thieves at the top.

Look what has happened anyway. Don't be
cynical, it helps nobody. Focus on solutions.

But here’s the thing: Why did some of us need Trayvon to be an angel in the first place? Why did they feel such a pressing urgency to magnify — and manufacture — his failings? Why was it so important to them to make him unworthy of sympathy?

It is a question that assumes new potency the more we see of George Zimmerman. On the day he shot Trayvon, this hero of the conservative noise machine, this righteous white Hispanic man who was, they say, just standing his ground, already had a record that included an accusation he attacked an undercover police officer. That same year — 2005 — a woman sought a restraining order against him, alleging domestic violence.

In September, Zimmerman had a fresh run-in with police over a domestic violence accusation by his estranged wife. In this latest episode, a girlfriend said he pulled a gun on her. In court, she said that once, he even tried to choke her.

Granted, none of these charges has been adjudicated, but there is certainly a pattern here. It ought to give decent people pause and the conservative noise machine shame — assuming it is capable of that emotion. That pattern paints in neon the machine’s willful blindness, the reflexive alacrity with which it assigns the thug label to the black kid — and innocence to the white man.

about the way Israel has dictated so much of our foreign
policy, not so much an ally as a blackmailer.

Nor their wanton disregard of many respectful
requests to make peace with neighbors.

Nor the arrogance with which that government
views and criticizes a President I happen to love.

Nor the amount of US taxpayer dollars funding
their settlements and their bombs.

It seems to me they are "our great obstacle" to
making allies of EVERYBODY in the region and
I bet lots of people would go for that.

LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE WANT PEACE.
Brothers and sisters in the Middle East
of all religions and tribal persuasions want
peace. Children everywhere want peace, old
people want peace, mothers and fathers,
almost everyone.

This guy is a product and creature of our times, The Age of Who-gives-a-shit.

The conscience receptors seem to have atrophied in this branch of our species.

Such people can't survive for long under scrutiny, in daylight -- any more than a nightcrawler can enjoy a day playing outside in the warm sun.

This is why the mighty Internet is a wonderful thing. Almost nobody can hide. Lies can only be disguised for a little while. Things are becoming transparent. The manifest world is becoming transparent. We begin to see that which is behind everything.

somewhat related:I thought this looked a lot like the Speaker of the House: